Re: [TSCM-L] {2261} R.C.M.P. - Hard times - Part 2 of 2 Parts

From: kondrak <kon..._at_phreaker.net>
Date: Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:48:40 -0500

reginal..._at_hotmail.com wrote:
> Continued from Part 1.
>
> "Worse, not a single RCMP bomb-sniffing dog or handler had been on
> duty to screen the Air India flight before it departed with its deadly
> cargo.
>
> --In April, the RCMP and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day called
> in the media to watch, as officers swarmed a container ship in
> Halifax, claiming dozens of Portuguese stowaways were on board. None
> were found.
>
> --Auditor General Sheila Fraser issued a report condemning the RCMP's
> forensic lab as slow, inept and backlogged -- contradicting earlier
> parliamentary testimony from Zaccardelli.
>
> -- In British Columbia, a coroner's inquest into the 2005 fatal
> shooting of Ian Bush in RCMP custody revealed internal investigators
> had failed to question Const. Paul Koester about the shooting until
> three months after the incident - and provided their questions to him
> in advance.
>
> -- In October, Const. Chris Warden was gunned down in the Nortwest
> Territories while responding alone to a domestic disturbance call. A
> month later in Numavut [also in the arctic] another young officer,
> Const. Doug Scott, was murdered alone in his cruiser, while
> investigating a similar incident involving alcohol and guns.
>
> The deaths prompted angry questions -- including from Warden's own
> widow -- about the RCMP's chronic manpower shortages, its assignment
> of inexperienced officers to isolated northern postings, and its
> policy of allowing officers to respond to calls alone.
>
> -- A week after Scott's death, Maclean's magazine published
> allegations by three Mounties -- former members of an elite, anti-
> crime unit in southern Ontario -- of racism and bullying inside the
> RCMP, and the revelation that such dysfunction had derailed the
> prosecution of several organized crime figures.
>
> -- Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died at Vancouver airport after
> being tasered, twice, by four unifomed Mounties.
>
> And just when the news couldn't get worse, a disturbing video of the
> incident emerged, sparking international outrage and showing Mr.
> Dziekanski, although agitated, posed no apparent threat to the
> officers or anyone else at the airport.
>
> By this time the whole country was aware the national police force, a
> supposed symbol of strength and virtue, was in desperate need of
> repair. When David Brown -- the lawyer tasked by Ottawa, in the wake
> of the pension scandal, with charting a path to recovery -- presented
> his report on December 14, his words were an anticlimactic conclusion
> to a year of painful news.
>
> 'As we travelled across Canada,' said Mr. Brown of his five-member
> task force, 'we witnessed fierce pride in the force, incredible
> dedication to the people they serve and a powerful determination to
> the policing services they know are required to keep our communities
> and country safe.
>
> 'But we also witnessed despair, disillusionment and anger with an
> organization that is failing them ... we heard of chronic shortages of
> people and equipment, of overwork and fatigue .. basic human
> management systems that haven't worked for years ... unpaid overtime,
> discipline and grievance systems that don't work, a promotion system
> with little or no credibility.'
>
> Mr. Brown's list of recommendations for fixing the RCMP is as long as
> the Mounties' catalogue of documented failings, and include major
> structural change and new civilian oversight.
>
> John Merriam thinks that a simple return to the 'Mounted' tradition, a
> lost aspect of basic officer training, also would do the organization
> good.
>
> 'When I went through my training, every new recruit was schooled in
> horsemanship. I think it creates discipline in the individual,' he
> says. 'I can remember my first day I got thrown off the horse eight
> times.'
>
> Neither Mr. Day nor the Mounties have said exactly when and how the
> RCMP will be restructured, although William Elliot, the civilian
> commissioner, has made it clear major changes are coming. He's also
> said enough goodwill remains on the part of Canadians to rebuild the
> force's public trust.
>
> 'These are difficult and challenging times for the RCMP.' Mr. Elliot
> said recently. 'All of us are aware of the need for change. One thing
> is certain: the status quo is not an option.'"
>
> End of Part 2 of 2 Parts
>
> Reg Curtis
> >
>
>
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:25 CST